Inventing Outside of the Box

Steven Norris, an editor at Gearburn--a Cape Town, South Africa website chronicling "the latest gadget news from around the world"--admits to being endlessly amused by "staggeringly cool technology videos" that reveal how designers transform ugly tech devices into "eye-pleasing shapes." As a favor to those who share his fascination, yesterday Norris shared 13 videos "of incredible inventions that show off their makers' insane intelligence."

His picks? We agree they're all staggeringly cool, but suggest that their inventors are likely quite sane geniuses and, perhaps with the exception of number 8, practical people:

2. Word Lens, a mobile app from Quest Visual, now part of Google, uses your phone camera to translate the written text of any language.

3. AirDog, a $1,300 "auto-follow action sports drone," takes the selfie to entirely new levels. One of its inventors says the device "changes how action sports enthusiasts capture their most epic moments."